No bar to arrest controversial Rab men

Narayanganj police today said their move to arrest 3 Rab officials who were reportedly involved in recent seven murders in Narayanganj has been accelerated.
"Our action has been speeded up with the letter from the Defence Ministry that assures us of no bars to arrest the Rab officials since yesterday evening," our Narayanganj correspondent reports quoting Khandaker Mohid Uddin, superintended of police in Narayanganj.
Police however are yet to take any visible steps in this regard.
He said, "Due to the gravity of the issue, we will not go for any hasty action as we want it to be flawless."
The three suspected accused Rapid Action Batallion (Rab) - 11 men include Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander SM Masud Rana.
The defence ministry responded to the home ministry letter about the arrest of the trio yesterday evening, saying there was no legal bar in arresting them, reports a private TV channel.Shawkat Mostafa, additional home secretary, told the private television channel that the defence ministry letter was forwarded to the inspector general of police for his action.
The accused Rab men were forced to retire on May 6 for their reported links to the abductions and killings.
None of them is accused in the case filed by Selina Islam, widow of one of the victims Nazrul Islam, but the HC on May 11 ordered the inspector general of police to nab them as suspects.
The court order came after Nazrul's family alleged that Rab men had committed the crime in exchange for Tk 6 crore from Nur Hossain, the prime accused, and other suspects.
Following the court order, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has, almost every day, told the media that the trio would be arrested in line with the HC directive.

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